Gao Yuan Yuan

Gao Yuan Yuan, Gao Yuan Yuan photo, Gao Yuan Yuan picture, Gao Yuan Yuan gallery

Chinese name 高圓圓 (Traditional) Chinese name 高圆圆 (Simplified) Pinyin Gáo Yuányuán (Mandarin) Born October 5, 1979 (1979-10-05) (age 31) Beijing Occupation actress Years active 1997 - present

Gao Yuanyuan was born in Beijing on October 5, 1979 and entered the entertainment industry in 1996. Known for her fresh looks and chaste spirit, Gao, unlike other mainland Chinese actresses, did not graduate from any drama academic institutions. Rather, she started her stardom by acting in a TV commerial for Meadow Gold ice-cream after being spotted off the street at Beijing's Wang Fu Jing Shopping District. She appeared as a minor role in the 1997 movie comedy Aiqing Mala Tang, (Spicy Love Soup), directed by Zhang Yang. While in 2000, she starred in an advertisement for Qing Zui (fresh mouth) mint during the CCTV's broadcast of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and is thus known to viewers as Qing Zui Nü Hai'er ("fresh mouth girl"). In 2002, she played the leading role of Zhou Zhiruo in Yi Tian Tu Long Ji(The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber), a TV series adaptation of Louis Cha's Wuxia novel of the same name. Increasingly well-known in Asia, Gao has also made inroads into the international market. In 2005, she was on the red carpet at the 58th Cannes Film Festival, where her film Qing Hong (Shanghai Dreams), directed by Wang Xiaoshuai, won the Prix de Jury prize. Jackie Chan has described her as "having the freshest look and chaste spirit that no Hong Kong actress could approach". Chan also picked Gao up as his partner in the action movie comedy Rob-B-Hood. Gao was also selected in 2008 to be a torch bearer in the Nanjing city, Jiangsu province leg of the torch relay for the Beijing Olympic Games on 27th of May. From 2006 to 2008, Gao starred as Jiang Shuyun in the blockbuster film City of Life and Death, a fictional account of events during the Nanjing Massacre. The movie won top prize at the 2009 San Sebastian Film Festival. This marked yet another high point in her acting career.